


found all I've waited for

by helsinkibaby



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, Community: comment_fic, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff, Romance, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-09
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-08-20 11:33:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8247244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: On his wedding day to Caitlin, Joe thinks back on his life with Francine.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Theme : flashbacks  
> Prompt : The Flash, Caitlin Snow/Joe West, On his wedding day to Caitlin, Joe thinks back on his life with Francine  
> http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/758182.html?thread=99848614#t99848614
> 
> I may have deviated from the prompt a smidge.

Joe pulls at his bow tie, trying to figure if that's what's making him feel like he's choking or just a whole host of butterflies setting flight in his stomach. Which makes no sense, he knows, because if there's one thing he's sure of, it's that he's doing the right thing today. Oh, he's heard all the jokes, the ones about sticking his head in the noose a second time, the ones about the age of his new bride told part in jest and part in jealousy. But what he and Caitlin have is anything but a joke, and he knows that. 

Maybe it's a good thing that he's nervous, he tells himself. After all, on his first wedding day, he hadn't been nervous at all, had been full of youthful optimism even in the least ideal of circumstances. It had been Francine, three month bump barely showing in her long white dress, who had been trembling, while he'd been the one to reassure her that just because they had to get married didn't mean that they wouldn't have done it eventually anyway. 

"I love you, Franny," he'd told her during a quiet moment in between photographs. "You know that. I'd marry you a thousand times over because I want to, not because someone's making me." 

Her lips had pressed into a thin line at that. "But someone is making us, Joseph," she'd pointed out. "You don't think that makes a difference?" 

"No," he'd told her and he'd meant it. 

He'd discovered, too late, that it made a difference to her. 

"Are you happy?" he'd asked her on the dance floor in the middle of their first dance. 

"Yes," she'd replied but even at the time, he'd seen the smile hadn't quite reached her eyes. 

Her smile didn't reach her eyes a lot of times after that. And it only got worse once Iris was born. 

"I'm home all day," she'd told him once when he'd walked in the door just as she was about to walk out, all high heels and short skirt, hair and makeup done to perfection. "I deserve some me time." 

He stops that train of thought in its track, knows it's not fair to her. She hadn't been ready to be a wife, to be a mother and he'd gone along blindly, assuming things would be fine, that she'd get used to it, that she'd change her mind. He hadn't known how down she was feeling; he'd never asked, she'd never said. He had known she dabbled in drugs when she went out but he hadn't realised how much of a problem she was keeping from him, not until the first overdose. 

"I'm sorry, Joseph," she'd sobbed in the hospital as he held her hand. "Please forgive me." 

He had. He always did because he loved his wife and he loved his family and he wanted to make things work. He'd believed he could hold things together right up until the day Franny ran away from rehab and he couldn't find her. He'd looked and looked and every time he looked into Iris's eyes, he couldn't believe that anyone would leave their child like that. In time, disbelief had given way to anger, which had given way to resentment and Franny had turned to Francine and letting everyone think she was dead was easier than admitting the truth. 

One of the blessings of his life is that they got to make things right before she died. 

Just then, the door opens and another of the blessings of his life comes in. "Almost time," Iris tells him, a huge smile on her face that fades as she sees him, to be replaced by a frown. "Dad, what did I tell you about messing with your tie? I swear, you're worse than Barry..." She crosses the room to him in a couple of impatient strides, hands outstretched and with a flick of her fingers, the tie is loose in her hands and she's re-tying it for him. 

"Have you seen her?" 

He knows he probably shouldn't ask but Iris nods, her smile making a sudden reappearance. "Jesse's with Caitlin now, just putting the finishing touches to her makeup," she says, excitement plain in her voice. "Dad, wait till you see her..."

Her smile is infectious or it should be. "So she's ok?" 

Iris looks at him like he's lost his mind. "Why wouldn't she be?" Then her face clears. "Don't tell me you have the jitters."

Joe shrugs, regrets it when he remembers he's in a penguin suit. "Backyard wedding in the house where my first marriage crashed and burned..." he heard himself mutter. "Maybe she would have liked something-"

He stops talking when Iris swats at his shoulder. "Intimate wedding in the home where you raised a family, where you continue to live as a family," she counters, rather pointedly. "Where the two of you are going to make lots more happy memories." 

"I just want today to be perfect for her." 

Joe's sigh is deep and heartfelt but it only makes Iris laugh. "Dad, it will be. Besides, ask yourself this... when have you ever known Caitlin to let herself get talked into doing something this big if she wasn't happy with it?" 

Casting his mind back over the last few years, Joe has to admit that nothing sprang readily to mind. "True," he allows. "She's kind of a badass like that." 

Iris rolls her eyes. "She's a total badass like that," she corrects. "Now, give me the rings." She'd refused to let Barry have them a second sooner than necessary, just in case. 

Reaching into his jacket pocket, Joe hands over the small square box. He holds out his left hand after she takes it. "Funny," he muses. "I was finally starting to get used to this finger not having a ring on it." 

"But this is different." Iris's voice is quiet. "That ring had a lot of lies going with it. A lot of secrets." There is no judgement in her voice; she's simply stating facts. "You and Caitlin... fresh start. Clean slate. Lots of other metaphors that I can't think of right now." She moves around behind him, one hand brushing down the shoulders of his suit, fingers picking pieces of dust off it. He hears, though, the tell-tale sound of a throat being cleared as quietly as possible. 

"You're ok with this, right?" He knows she is but somehow asking one last time is suddenly very important to him. 

"Yes, Dad." When she comes around to stand in front of him, her eyes are clear, her voice strong. "I'm more than ok with this. I want you to be happy. And I've never seen you happier than when you and Caitlin are together." 

It's been a long path for her to be able to say that and mean it, that's no secret to either of them. Shaking his head, he pulls her into a hug, kisses the top of her head. "I did a good job with you," he tells her and she giggles. 

"Come on, we're going to be late," she says. "You don't want to keep Caitlin waiting." There's a twitch to her lips and she says, "That's-"

"Barry's job." 

They finish the old family joke together and, still laughing, walk arm in arm out of Joe's room and into the hallway. Without even realising he's doing it, he turns his head towards Iris's room where Caitlin's been getting ready but the door is firmly shut and Iris glares at him when she realises what he's doing. "No peeking!" she orders and even though he protests his innocence, he knows that he hasn't really got a leg to stand on. 

When they reach the back yard, everyone bar the bride is already there and Cisco jumps up from his seat to shake his hand. "Guess that's my cue," he says, heading into the house. 

As they wait for him to return, Joe greets as many people as he can but it's no time at all before Barry taps him on the shoulder, walks him to the Justice of the Peace before taking his seat beside Iris. He nods to Wally, who's in charge of the music, and then the Bridal March starts and everyone stands and Joe turns to look into his future. 

As he walks slowly, Cisco's grin is ear to ear, something that Joe barely has time to acknowledge because it's like his gaze narrows, like he's looking down a long tunnel and all he can see is Caitlin on Cisco's arm. She doesn't look away from Joe as she walks and her smile is as big as he's ever seen it but it seems to get even bigger the closer she gets to him. The dress is simple, long and ivory coloured, little cap sleeves on her shoulders, a slight scoop on the neck. It fits her perfectly, accentuates her tiny waist and his palms itch with the desire to run over the silky, filmy material. In her hand she carries a bouquet of irises - she hadn't been able to resist the idea, no matter how many times Iris herself had tried to talk her out of it - and the necklace he'd bought her for their first Christmas together twinkles around her neck. 

She's beautiful. 

Well, he always thinks she's beautiful, but she's especially beautiful today. 

And then suddenly she's standing beside him as Cisco places her hand in his, still grinning. "And breathe," he says, and Joe's honestly not sure who he's talking to, but it's good advice so he takes it. Caitlin does too, which is how the two of them both end up taking huge deep breaths simultaneously, then laughing about it and Cisco sits down with a shake of his head and a chuckle he doesn't even try to hide. 

The rest of the ceremony passes quickly, followed by hugs and kisses and photographs and it's way too long before he gets to spend even a few minutes alone with her. When he does, he pulls her into the house, up the stairs and into their bedroom, where he closes the door firmly and pins her against it. He kisses her then and she laughs as she winds her arms around his neck and responds enthusiastically. 

"You know what everyone's going to think we're up here doing," she says who knows how long later. 

Joe just shakes his head as he takes her by the hands, stepping back and letting his gaze run over her body from head to toe. "I just want to look at you," he tells her, lets all the admiration he feels bleed into his voice. She giggles, lets go of one of his hands to do a slow spin. As she does, he catches sight of the bracelet on her wrist. "Is that Iris's?" he asks and closer inspection reveals it to indeed be the one he gave her for her sweet sixteen. 

"It's my something borrowed," she explains and the thought of her and Iris planning that makes his heart swell in his chest. "It also works for my something old." 

"I thought that was me." He makes the joke first - he does that a lot - and she rolls her eyes as she slips her arms around his waist. 

"Stop," she says with a kiss, so he does. "The dress is my something new..." she continues after a moment, then her voice trails off and there's a glint in her eye that he knows well. It's the one she gets when she's baiting someone, getting ready to spring a trap for a devastating pay off. 

He thinks he might know where she's going with this one, so he takes the bait, does so happily. "And your something blue?" 

Her lips set into a prim line. The tone of her voice is anything but prim however. "Underneath my dress," she tells him as she presses herself against him. His hands, without any conscious thought on his part, slide down her back, rest on the curve of her ass and she lifts herself up, brushes her lips across his. "Getting warmer," she murmurs against his cheek and he chuckles, deep and low. 

"Sweetheart, you have no idea."

She laughs at that too, stops when they hear people walking by outside. When she looks up at him again, her face is vaguely guilty. "We should go back out there." 

"We should." She makes to leave but he tightens his grip around her waist. "In a minute." 

A minute turns to two turns to five, especially when she has to fix her lipstick because he's wearing more of it than she is. There are any amount of knowing looks, a great deal less knowing comments when they emerge outside, still hand in hand, and Iris wastes no time in announcing that dinner will be served shortly. 

Dinner is a low key buffet after which there are speeches - Barry's is short and stumbling, Iris's slightly longer and sweet enough to make Caitlin's eyes fill with tears and Joe weep openly. Cisco makes a very touching "kinda, sorta, brother of the bride," speech that has Caitlin hiding her face in Joe's shoulder due to both laughter and emotion. Joe is the last to speak and he keeps it simple, thanking everyone for coming, his family for all their help and support and, "Caitlin... for just being Caitlin." 

After that, it's party time. Cisco and Wally have been working overtime on wiring up the yard with what seems like hundreds of fairy lights, and the sound system they've rigged up isn't bad either. Neither Joe nor Caitlin are usually much for dancing, but they make an exception tonight, particularly when the music slows and he can pull her close, rest their joined hands over his heart and just sway together. 

"Is it just me," he says late in the evening when the party has already begun to thin out, "or have they played a lot of slow songs tonight?" 

Caitlin's laugh is low and, he realises instantly, slightly knowing. "Are you complaining?" she teases and he knows better than to touch that one with a ten foot pole. 

"Never," he says, and he means it too. "I could dance like this all night." 

She lifts one eyebrow. "Is that a challenge or a promise?" 

"Both." He lowers his lips to hers, feels her smile against them. When he lifts his head again, he's smiling too. "Are you happy?" he asks and she looks at him like he's crazy. Only a for second though, then her face clears, softens to the kind of smile he only sees in their most private moments. 

"Yes, Joe," she says and for just a moment, he's almost thirty years in the past, looking down at his first wife as he asked her that very question. The answer might have been the same but the expression on the two women's faces, in their eyes, told him all he needed to know. "Today has been perfect... I couldn't have asked for more." 

"Yeah," he says holding her more tightly as he rests his cheek against hers and sways her in his arms. "Me neither."


End file.
